Slack

Status: production-ready for DMs + channels via Slack app integrations. Default mode is Socket Mode; HTTP Events API mode is also supported.

Slack DMs default to pairing mode. Native command behavior and command catalog. Cross-channel diagnostics and repair playbooks.

Quick setup

In Slack app settings:

    - enable **Socket Mode**
    - create **App Token** (`xapp-...`) with `connections:write`
    - install app and copy **Bot Token** (`xoxb-...`)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure CoderClaw">

{
  channels: {
    slack: {
      enabled: true,
      mode: "socket",
      appToken: "xapp-...",
      botToken: "xoxb-...",
    },
  },
}

    Env fallback (default account only):

SLACK_APP_TOKEN=xapp-...
SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-...

  </Step>

  <Step title="Subscribe app events">
    Subscribe bot events for:

    - `app_mention`
    - `message.channels`, `message.groups`, `message.im`, `message.mpim`
    - `reaction_added`, `reaction_removed`
    - `member_joined_channel`, `member_left_channel`
    - `channel_rename`
    - `pin_added`, `pin_removed`

    Also enable App Home **Messages Tab** for DMs.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start gateway">

coderclaw gateway

  </Step>
</Steps>

    - set mode to HTTP (`channels.slack.mode="http"`)
    - copy Slack **Signing Secret**
    - set Event Subscriptions + Interactivity + Slash command Request URL to the same webhook path (default `/slack/events`)

  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure CoderClaw HTTP mode">

{
  channels: {
    slack: {
      enabled: true,
      mode: "http",
      botToken: "xoxb-...",
      signingSecret: "your-signing-secret",
      webhookPath: "/slack/events",
    },
  },
}

  </Step>

  <Step title="Use unique webhook paths for multi-account HTTP">
    Per-account HTTP mode is supported.

    Give each account a distinct `webhookPath` so registrations do not collide.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Token model

botToken + appToken are required for Socket Mode.
HTTP mode requires botToken + signingSecret.
Config tokens override env fallback.
SLACK_BOT_TOKEN / SLACK_APP_TOKEN env fallback applies only to the default account.
userToken (xoxp-...) is config-only (no env fallback) and defaults to read-only behavior (userTokenReadOnly: true).
Optional: add chat:write.customize if you want outgoing messages to use the active agent identity (custom username and icon). icon_emoji uses :emoji_name: syntax.

For actions/directory reads, user token can be preferred when configured. For writes, bot token remains preferred; user-token writes are only allowed when `userTokenReadOnly: false` and bot token is unavailable.

Access control and routing

`channels.slack.dmPolicy` controls DM access (legacy: `channels.slack.dm.policy`):

- `pairing` (default)
- `allowlist`
- `open` (requires `channels.slack.allowFrom` to include `"*"`; legacy: `channels.slack.dm.allowFrom`)
- `disabled`

DM flags:

- `dm.enabled` (default true)
- `channels.slack.allowFrom` (preferred)
- `dm.allowFrom` (legacy)
- `dm.groupEnabled` (group DMs default false)
- `dm.groupChannels` (optional MPIM allowlist)

Pairing in DMs uses `coderclaw pairing approve slack <code>`.

`channels.slack.groupPolicy` controls channel handling:

- `open`
- `allowlist`
- `disabled`

Channel allowlist lives under `channels.slack.channels`.

Runtime note: if `channels.slack` is completely missing (env-only setup) and `channels.defaults.groupPolicy` is unset, runtime falls back to `groupPolicy="open"` and logs a warning.

Name/ID resolution:

- channel allowlist entries and DM allowlist entries are resolved at startup when token access allows
- unresolved entries are kept as configured

Channel messages are mention-gated by default.

Mention sources:

- explicit app mention (`<@botId>`)
- mention regex patterns (`agents.list[].groupChat.mentionPatterns`, fallback `messages.groupChat.mentionPatterns`)
- implicit reply-to-bot thread behavior

Per-channel controls (`channels.slack.channels.<id|name>`):

- `requireMention`
- `users` (allowlist)
- `allowBots`
- `skills`
- `systemPrompt`
- `tools`, `toolsBySender`

Commands and slash behavior

Native command auto-mode is off for Slack (commands.native: "auto" does not enable Slack native commands).
Enable native Slack command handlers with channels.slack.commands.native: true (or global commands.native: true).
When native commands are enabled, register matching slash commands in Slack (/<command> names).
If native commands are not enabled, you can run a single configured slash command via channels.slack.slashCommand.
Native arg menus now adapt their rendering strategy:
- up to 5 options: button blocks
- 6-100 options: static select menu
- more than 100 options: external select with async option filtering when interactivity options handlers are available
- if encoded option values exceed Slack limits, the flow falls back to buttons
For long option payloads, Slash command argument menus use a confirm dialog before dispatching a selected value.

Default slash command settings:

enabled: false
name: "coderclaw"
sessionPrefix: "slack:slash"
ephemeral: true

Slash sessions use isolated keys:

agent:<agentId>:slack:slash:<userId>

and still route command execution against the target conversation session (CommandTargetSessionKey).

Threading, sessions, and reply tags

DMs route as direct; channels as channel; MPIMs as group.
With default session.dmScope=main, Slack DMs collapse to agent main session.
Channel sessions: agent:<agentId>:slack:channel:<channelId>.
Thread replies can create thread session suffixes (:thread:<threadTs>) when applicable.
channels.slack.thread.historyScope default is thread; thread.inheritParent default is false.
channels.slack.thread.initialHistoryLimit controls how many existing thread messages are fetched when a new thread session starts (default 20; set 0 to disable).

Reply threading controls:

channels.slack.replyToMode: off|first|all (default off)
channels.slack.replyToModeByChatType: per direct|group|channel
legacy fallback for direct chats: channels.slack.dm.replyToMode

Manual reply tags are supported:

[[reply_to_current]]
[[reply_to:<id>]]

Note: replyToMode="off" disables implicit reply threading. Explicit [[reply_to_*]] tags are still honored.

Media, chunking, and delivery

Slack file attachments are downloaded from Slack-hosted private URLs (token-authenticated request flow) and written to the media store when fetch succeeds and size limits permit.

Runtime inbound size cap defaults to `20MB` unless overridden by `channels.slack.mediaMaxMb`.

- text chunks use `channels.slack.textChunkLimit` (default 4000) - `channels.slack.chunkMode="newline"` enables paragraph-first splitting - file sends use Slack upload APIs and can include thread replies (`thread_ts`) - outbound media cap follows `channels.slack.mediaMaxMb` when configured; otherwise channel sends use MIME-kind defaults from media pipeline Preferred explicit targets:

- `user:<id>` for DMs
- `channel:<id>` for channels

Slack DMs are opened via Slack conversation APIs when sending to user targets.

Actions and gates

Slack actions are controlled by channels.slack.actions.*.

Available action groups in current Slack tooling:

Group	Default
messages	enabled
reactions	enabled
pins	enabled
memberInfo	enabled
emojiList	enabled

Events and operational behavior

Message edits/deletes/thread broadcasts are mapped into system events.
Reaction add/remove events are mapped into system events.
Member join/leave, channel created/renamed, and pin add/remove events are mapped into system events.
Assistant thread status updates (for “is typing…” indicators in threads) use assistant.threads.setStatus and require bot scope assistant:write.
channel_id_changed can migrate channel config keys when configWrites is enabled.
Channel topic/purpose metadata is treated as untrusted context and can be injected into routing context.
Block actions and modal interactions emit structured Slack interaction: ... system events with rich payload fields:
- block actions: selected values, labels, picker values, and workflow_* metadata
- modal view_submission and view_closed events with routed channel metadata and form inputs

Ack reactions

ackReaction sends an acknowledgement emoji while CoderClaw is processing an inbound message.

Resolution order:

channels.slack.accounts.<accountId>.ackReaction
channels.slack.ackReaction
messages.ackReaction
agent identity emoji fallback (agents.list[].identity.emoji, else ”👀”)

Notes:

Slack expects shortcodes (for example "eyes").
Use "" to disable the reaction for a channel or account.

Manifest and scope checklist

{
  "display_information": {
    "name": "CoderClaw",
    "description": "Slack connector for CoderClaw"
  },
  "features": {
    "bot_user": {
      "display_name": "CoderClaw",
      "always_online": false
    },
    "app_home": {
      "messages_tab_enabled": true,
      "messages_tab_read_only_enabled": false
    },
    "slash_commands": [
      {
        "command": "/coderclaw",
        "description": "Send a message to CoderClaw",
        "should_escape": false
      }
    ]
  },
  "oauth_config": {
    "scopes": {
      "bot": [
        "chat:write",
        "channels:history",
        "channels:read",
        "groups:history",
        "im:history",
        "mpim:history",
        "users:read",
        "app_mentions:read",
        "assistant:write",
        "reactions:read",
        "reactions:write",
        "pins:read",
        "pins:write",
        "emoji:read",
        "commands",
        "files:read",
        "files:write"
      ]
    }
  },
  "settings": {
    "socket_mode_enabled": true,
    "event_subscriptions": {
      "bot_events": [
        "app_mention",
        "message.channels",
        "message.groups",
        "message.im",
        "message.mpim",
        "reaction_added",
        "reaction_removed",
        "member_joined_channel",
        "member_left_channel",
        "channel_rename",
        "pin_added",
        "pin_removed"
      ]
    }
  }
}

If you configure `channels.slack.userToken`, typical read scopes are:

- `channels:history`, `groups:history`, `im:history`, `mpim:history`
- `channels:read`, `groups:read`, `im:read`, `mpim:read`
- `users:read`
- `reactions:read`
- `pins:read`
- `emoji:read`
- `search:read` (if you depend on Slack search reads)

Troubleshooting

Check, in order:

- `groupPolicy`
- channel allowlist (`channels.slack.channels`)
- `requireMention`
- per-channel `users` allowlist

Useful commands:

coderclaw channels status --probe
coderclaw logs --follow
coderclaw doctor

Check:

- `channels.slack.dm.enabled`
- `channels.slack.dmPolicy` (or legacy `channels.slack.dm.policy`)
- pairing approvals / allowlist entries

coderclaw pairing list slack

Validate bot + app tokens and Socket Mode enablement in Slack app settings. Validate:

- signing secret
- webhook path
- Slack Request URLs (Events + Interactivity + Slash Commands)
- unique `webhookPath` per HTTP account

Verify whether you intended:

- native command mode (`channels.slack.commands.native: true`) with matching slash commands registered in Slack
- or single slash command mode (`channels.slack.slashCommand.enabled: true`)

Also check `commands.useAccessGroups` and channel/user allowlists.

Text streaming

CoderClaw supports Slack native text streaming via the Agents and AI Apps API.

By default, streaming is enabled. Disable it per account:

channels:
  slack:
    streaming: false

Requirements

Enable Agents and AI Apps in your Slack app settings.
Ensure the app has the assistant:write scope.
A reply thread must be available for that message. Thread selection still follows replyToMode.

Behavior

First text chunk starts a stream (chat.startStream).
Later text chunks append to the same stream (chat.appendStream).
End of reply finalizes stream (chat.stopStream).
Media and non-text payloads fall back to normal delivery.
If streaming fails mid-reply, CoderClaw falls back to normal delivery for remaining payloads.

Configuration reference pointers

Primary reference:

Configuration reference - Slack

High-signal Slack fields:
- mode/auth: mode, botToken, appToken, signingSecret, webhookPath, accounts.*
- DM access: dm.enabled, dmPolicy, allowFrom (legacy: dm.policy, dm.allowFrom), dm.groupEnabled, dm.groupChannels
- channel access: groupPolicy, channels.*, channels.*.users, channels.*.requireMention
- threading/history: replyToMode, replyToModeByChatType, thread.*, historyLimit, dmHistoryLimit, dms.*.historyLimit
- delivery: textChunkLimit, chunkMode, mediaMaxMb
- ops/features: configWrites, commands.native, slashCommand.*, actions.*, userToken, userTokenReadOnly

Slack

Slack

Quick setup

Token model

Access control and routing

Commands and slash behavior

Threading, sessions, and reply tags

Media, chunking, and delivery

Actions and gates

Events and operational behavior

Ack reactions

Manifest and scope checklist

Troubleshooting

Text streaming

Requirements

Behavior

Configuration reference pointers

Related